Helmet tribute album coming with KEN mode, Meek Is Murder, Rosetta & more
Alt-metal vets Helmet had recently been celebrating 1994’s Betty by playing it in full on tour, and now some other bands will celebrate that album’s predecessor, 1992’s Meantime. KEN mode, Meek Is Murder, Fuck the Facts, Rosetta, Kings Destroy and more contribute to covers to Meantime [Redux], which will be out on September 16 via Magnetic Eye Records (pre-order at Bandcamp). A lot of the bands on the tribute are a bit heavier than Helmet themselves, and accordingly, some of these covers take Helmet’s music to even more extreme places. We’re premiering Meek Is Murder’s take on “Better,” as well as I Am Become Death‘s take on “In The Meantime.” Listen to both, with quotes about the covers from both bands:
I AM BECOME DEATH – IN THE MEANTIME
“As a band, you wouldn’t say IABD sounds much like Helmet. However, as individuals, we all came up on the heavy music of the 90s. Meantime and Betty were staples of that era, and Page’s influence is undeniable. Those riffs were tough, and they still stand up. And his punching vocals were brutal. Hopefully Helmet thinks we’ve done them justice, and listeners can find something different in this new rendition.”
– I am become Death
MEEK IS MURDER – BETTER
“When I bought my Orange cab from Chelsea Guitars, the dude told me it used to belong to one of the guys from Helmet. I’m pretty sure it was an omen. We wanted to cover ‘Better’ because, even though it wasn’t one of the hits, it speaks a sort of understated proto-Botch mathy dialect that paved the way for early 2000s hardcore. It was a lot of fun to update the track with our brand of noisy blasting. We recorded at Spaceman Sound, which is the best studio in Brooklyn, despite its proximity to the borough’s largest poop-processing plant.”
– Mike Keller, Meek is Murder
I Am Become Death play live on September 10 at Silent Barn, an ABC No Rio in Exile show with Hellkeeper, Through Thorn and Brier, and Scavengers (2pm doors).
Meek Is Murder released their own album, Was, last month.
Full Helmet tribute tracklist:
1. I Am Become Death – In the Meantime
2. Earthship – Ironhead
3. Ironweed – Give It
4. Sunflo’er – Unsung
5. KEN mode – Turned Out
6. Kings Destroy – He Feels Bad
7. Meek is Murder – Better
8. Ironweed – You Borrowed
9. The Glorious Rebellion – FBLA II
10. Fuck the Facts – Role Model
11. Fashion Week – I Know
12. Rosetta – Like I Care
13. Livver – Sinatra
14. Heads. – Blacktop
15. BlackWolfGoat – Bad Mood
16. Brief Lives – Milquetoast
